In other words this is not a passive investment; motels need management and a small motel doesn’t afford the ability to pay for the type of management where the owner can play the role of passive investor.It sounds like you don’t really know if the owners are motivated to sell or not.

Substance generally rules over form in legal matters so be sure you know what liability you're assuming by playing this role and what you should justly receive in trade for the liability.   

Otherwise a sales role in RE brokerage, mortgage brokerage, or title insurance will offer your best potential earnings, as well as connecting you with investors and attorneys that know investors to help grow your knowledge and capital base.

Whether the EMD were delivered or not, they've inspected and decided to exercise the option to terminate the contract.

That's a great question.It'd depend on if you want an "active" or "passive" role in the investment, but I'd encourage you to look into investing in apartment syndications. 

Keep in mind the E&O carrier is not going to just role over and pay the loss, they're going to do an extensive investigation and do everything in the power to assign the loss responsibility to anyone other than it's insured. 

I currently reside in the bay area, have a 9-5 gig and a 1099 role both with over 1 year of experience. 

Once you have a team of trusted individuals in these 4 roles you'll be ready to invest knowing you are in good hands!

I feel like most landlords/managers focus on the "role" more than the relationship.

The biggest draw back for me has been lack of property managers in rural areas but I've found some real estate agencies take on that role too.